Rental Screening Policy

Fees and refunds

• Screening fee: $50 for each adult (18 or older) who will live in the unit. The fee covers our cost of screening you.
• We charge each applicant no more than one screening fee in any 60-day period, even if you apply for more than one unit.
• Refunds: we refund your fee within 30 days if (1) we rent the unit to someone else before we screen you, or (2) you withdraw your application in writing before we start screening.
• We will not take a fee when we know no unit will be available soon, unless you agree in writing.
• If we break these fee rules, Oregon law (ORS 90.295) lets you recover twice the fee plus $250.

Units, rent and deposits

• Availability: you can call the property before you apply. We will tell you about how many units like the one you want are available or coming available, and how many applications are already waiting for them. Columbia Pointe: (503) 791-3703. Hilltop: (541) 557-2200.
• Rent: listed on each property’s page.
• Deposit: see the Security Deposit Disclosure below. The deposit is due within 3 business days after you are approved. Prorated first month’s rent is due when you sign the rental agreement.
• Renter’s insurance: not required, but we strongly recommend it. Our insurance does not cover your belongings.

Security Deposit Disclosure

• Standard Security Deposit: $1,500 (with approved credit, background, and income verification).
• Conditional Security Deposit: Up to $5,000.
• Why the Deposit May Increase: A higher deposit may be required based on screening results.
• Key Screening Factors: Insufficient credit history, less than one year at your current job, or insufficient income-to-rent ratios.
• Final Determination: The final deposit amount will be provided in writing upon application approval. If we require more than the standard deposit, we will tell you the reasons in writing.

What we check

• Your identity
• Your rental history: references from current and past landlords, and court records of eviction cases
• Your income and employment, including calls to employers
• Your credit report
• Criminal records, sex offender registries and eviction court records
• We use SafeRent Solutions, LLC, a tenant screening company, for the credit report and the criminal, sex offender and eviction searches.

What can lead to a denial

1. Income. Your share of the rent should be no more than 40% of your household’s monthly income (income of at least 2.5 times your share of the rent), and we must be able to verify that income. We count all lawful income, including wages, self-employment, Social Security, disability, pensions, child support, and housing vouchers or other rent assistance. If you have a voucher, we apply this only to the part of the rent you pay. If you don’t meet this standard, we may still approve you with conditions, such as a larger security deposit.
2. Rental history. A judgment for possession (eviction) against you, or an eviction case against you that is still pending. Negative references from a landlord. Not being able to verify your rental history with a prior landlord.
3. Criminal history. A conviction, or a charge that is still pending, for conduct that is still a crime in Oregon and is one of these: a drug crime (not marijuana-only); a crime against a person; a sex offense; financial fraud, including identity theft and forgery; or any other crime that would harm the property of the landlord or other tenants, or the health, safety or peaceful enjoyment of the property. Before we deny you for criminal history, we will contact you and give you a chance to send us more information, such as evidence of rehabilitation. We then look at the whole picture: how serious it was, how many incidents, how long ago, and how old you were.

More than one application

If we receive more than one application for the same unit, we may screen one application at a time. If the unit is rented before we screen your application, your application is not denied. We refund your screening fee within 30 days.

After you are approved

Within 3 business days after we tell you that you are approved, you must pay the security deposit and sign a Security Deposit Agreement. If you do not, we may withdraw the approval and offer the unit to someone else. Because your application was screened, the screening fee is not refunded. The Security Deposit Agreement sets the date by which you must sign the rental agreement. If you do not sign by that date, we may keep the deposit. If we do not hold the unit for you, we refund the deposit within 4 days.

What we will not consider

• Arrests that did not lead to a conviction (except charges still pending, as above)
• Charges for which you are in a diversion, conditional discharge or deferred judgment program
• Convictions based only on marijuana use or possession, or having a medical marijuana card
• Eviction cases that were dismissed, or that you won, before you applied
• Eviction judgments entered 5 or more years before you applied
• Eviction judgments for claims that arose from April 1, 2020 through February 2022, and rent that went unpaid during that time, including rent sent to collections

Fair housing

We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, familial status, source of income or disability. We do not deny or treat anyone differently because they are a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

If we deny your application

• Within 14 days we will mail you a written statement giving at least one reason. It will name and give the address of any screening company or credit reporting agency whose report we used, and explain why any information you sent us did not change the decision.
• You have the right to dispute wrong information with the screening company or credit reporting agency that reported it.
• Appeal: we do not offer an appeal.

See also: How we review your application.